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Harry F. Byrd, Painting on Canvas, 1953

CONTENT WARNING

Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation. 

Context

Harry Flood Byrd served as governor of Virginia from 1926 to 1930 and as a United States senator from 1933 to 1965. Byrd headed a political organization, known as the Byrd Organization, that emphasized small government and fiscal conservatism. He proposed using a “pay as you go” policy to keep taxes low and reduce the amount of money spent on public projects. The idea was to make Virginia attractive to business and industrial investors, but the lack of investment into public programs left road construction, public education, and public health programs below national standards. For more than three decades Byrd's political allies dominated politics in the state.

Byrd is perhaps best known for his efforts in support of Massive Resistance, which used laws and the courts to obstruct desegregation in an effort to not comply with changes which were being made nationwide in response to 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that public school segregation was unconstitutional. According to Byrd, "If we can organize the Southern States for massive resistance to this order I think that in time the rest of the country will realize that racial integration is not going to be accepted in the South." Byrd spent his years in office fighting civil rights legislation and social programs proposed by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. In November 1965, Byrd retired from the U.S. Senate and eleven months later he died from complications of a brain tumor.


Citation: Dickinson, Sidney. Harry Flood Byrd. Painting on canvas, 1953. Commonwealth of Virginia Art Collection. Digital Reproduction by Library of Virginia.

Standards

USII.1, USII.9, VUS.1, VUS.14

Suggested Questions

Preview Activity

Look At It: Look at the image. Based on clothing and posture, what can you infer about the subject of the image?

Post Activities

Artistic Exploration: Look at the portrait of Byrd, the colors the artist used, and the background. Briefly describe Byrd's facial expressions, posture, and setting. From the portrait, what can you conclude about Byrd the man and Byrd the politician?

Political Plans: You are a member of a group who opposed Byrd’s policies and those of the Byrd Organization. How would you approach the issues? What would you do?